Example Business Plan * Jane Doe of Suavi Restaurant * September 2012

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1 Example Business Plan * Jane Doe of Suavi Restaurant * September 2012 Please note that his business plan is not intended to be used to develop an identical business. The City Wharf Market Plaza is a fictional area with a fictional market and fictional market license created purely for illustration purposes. This fictional business plan should give you an idea of the type of proposal which the Start- Up loans panel may consider. This may need to be expanded on for a more complex business. No business plan is considered perfect and the business plan is just one part of the assessment process albeit an important one and a plan like this may or may not be approved for funding depending upon the performance of the business owner at panel. Executive Summary Suavi Restaurant is an innovative mini-restaurant offering unique gastronomic experiences to city workers looking for something unusual and exceptional. Suavi will offer a pre-determined daily menu as cooked, served and selected by Jane Doe, from her ever-growing repertoire of quality, highend dishes. The dishes will use the highest quality ingredients in imaginative combinations. The clientele will simply sit and be dazzled. In addition, Suavi will have a cold food selection for passers-by and offer a hot and cold take-away lunch in a similar creative vein to the sit-down lunch experience. The funding requirement of this business is 10,000 over a 3 year term to assist with start-up costs. Jane is planning to contribute 4,000 towards the deposit of 6,000 in total for the van with price of 10,000 and the rest of the 4,000 will be spent on a lease and purchase agreement with the dealership ( 600 cost of credit with 3 years payment terms, 278). This business remains viable even with a low level of sales due to a low, fixed cost structure. With much of the fixed cost element already financed by the loan, the business will have to meet loan repayments of no more than 50 per month for the first 12 months followed by no more than 450 per month for the remaining 24 months. Other fixed costs are minimal and total 27,000 in the first year. The average sale price of the meal, takeaways and passing sales is estimated at 25 and the average variable costs of the products and services is conservatively estimated at 10 (see Costs & Pricing below). This gives a break-even of approximately 1,800 average product sales per annum translating into annual sales of 45,000 per year, which is per week (assuming there are 48 weeks year in line with opening times of the market). With higher drawings and loan repayments in years 2 and 3 weekly break-even is 1,260 and 1,274 per week respectively in those years.

2 Suavi Restaurant is a start-up business that will operate as a sole trader. In future, it may become a limited company if sales reach significant levels and there is a tax advantage to do so. Jane plans to seek informal advice and mentoring support not only from the Start Up Loan Programme, but also from a friend of her fathers who is a chartered accountant and offered to help pro-bono with some basic tax work in the first year. Break down of loan proceeds 2,000 for a van large enough to carry all equipment and foods for display and on the day 1,500 for 2 x portable gas fuelled hot plate surface and gas canister 1,500 for a high quality u-shaped table (collapsible and similar in design to a Tepanyaki table) 1,000 working capital and contingency funds 1,000 annual market license in the City Wharf Market Plaza remote position away from the high footfall areas (currently negotiating for a short free period) 750 high quality comfortable high chairs (weatherproof) 500 materials and labour for a custom made hob and extractor (made by a friend) to protect gazebo and extract smoke 500 portable small oven (for keeping take-away orders warm until collected) 500 materials for customer display cabinet (made by friend) to show off cold produce 500 large gazebo 15 x insurances (public liability etc.) Total 10,000 loan required Product / Service Suavi Restaurant will offer a range of exclusive and imaginative seasonal menus based upon the Tepanyaki cuisine but with a western twist to serve the high-end business lunch market. The business will offer a bespoke daily lunch menu to its clients who include businessmen from the local business district of City Wharf. Clients here are considered affluent with large disposable incomes and are likely to want something unique to offer their clients in terms of lunch settings. In addition, the business will market some of its menu for take-away and also specific exclusive luxury food items to passers-by. Typical menus will include seven courses beginning with palate cleansers and two or three small but tasty and imaginative starters. There will be a main course with top quality meats or fish and finally two or three types of mini-desert to tantalise the taste buds and end the gastronomic experience on a high.

3 The menu for any particular lunch will be set and the customer will be looking for an experience that is prepared for them rather than seeking to select themselves. Lunch will typically last for between 1 and 2 hours. In addition, in the morning, orders will be taken by mobile phone for small packets of take-away lunch that will be pre-prepared and kept warm in a portable oven for collection by those who do not have time for a long lunch. Clients may still want to experience a special lunch take-away meal for 15. Meals are decided by the chef and so the client once more does not decide what they eat). Lastly, regular cold favourites will be served. These will be pre-made and available for purchase by punters who are attracted to the market stand but who are not able to afford the full experience. They may simply want to sample some of the regular and popular cold food delights offered. Jane recognises that the outdoor lunch business is seasonal, particularly in the UK and will concentrate on the take-away trade during colder months. Payment will be accepted by cash although Jane will be setting up an online booking service which will include the capacity to take online card payments. Within the City Wharf area, which has a business population of 20,000, there are many other food stalls in the market, as well as nearby restaurants. However, no one is offering this unique type of experience. Jane s food qualifications will be prominently displayed (see appendix) and she will publicise her training with Mr BLAH, the famous chef, with his permission. This business hinges on Jane s own reputation as a chef. We have therefore included further endorsements from businesses she has provided the occasional on the side catering to. Among these are several well-known large corporates. Staff and Owner Qualifications, Education, Experience and Training Suavi Restaurant is being set up by Jane Doe (aged 22) who has just completed an apprenticeship with the famous chef Mr BLAH. Jane has spent recent months looking for employment in the catering sector, without success due to the recent lack of opportunities in her local area as a result of the recent economic downturn. She has decided to take this opportunity of seeking self-employment as a route into employment. Jane has, over a number of years, undertaken catering work for small private parties for friends and family as well as several student events both in the good food society at her university and in university food competition. She won first place in the BLAH university food challenge competition, which demonstrated her capability and capacity to offer something unique and adventurous in the industry. Jane has already generated a certain appeal among City lunchers with s her on the side catering. She feels that the time is right to use her qualifications and passion for cooking to achieve economic independence. Jane Doe recently completed a specialist course in Tepanyaki cuisine as well as several short courses at her affiliated NACUE society on setting up a business, managing cash flow, bookkeeping and website marketing.

4 The business will be registered at her father s friend s accountancy business. The van will be parked on her parents driveway. Any valuable equipment will be stored and covered in their garage. Market Description City Wharf Market Plaza is represents a traditional local market but is primarily for City Traders and Investment Bankers who wish to take a break from their work, often for a short lunch. The market is within a 2-minute walk of the main tube station and 2 minutes from the majority of offices in the local area. Although 90% of these are offices for major financial firms, there are few businesses that serve these offices. The market is only open during the working week as the area is practically deserted at weekends. There are nearly 5,000 office employees within the immediate area (2 minute walk) and Jane hopes to achieve an average of six client bookings per day. On a monthly basis, with an average of 20 working days per month, this could theoretically produce approximately 20 x 6 x 50 = 6,000 per month takings, just from the main lunch service. Her sales expectations in the first year average 3,750 per month from all products and increase to 4,578 per month in year 2 and 4,634 per month in year 3. Marketing Strategy Jane has worked casually in the catering market for a sandwich stall which delivers sandwiches to offices in the locality. As a result of her deliveries she is familiar with all receptionists and secretaries in these offices and has established rapport and credibility to the extent that her sandwiches can be displayed and offered to office employees. Using relations established with local reception staff to access clients Receptionists are the gatekeepers to Jane s target market will give her a unique advantage when reaching out to the office employees for this unique restaurant. She will work with receptionists who will be entitled to one free take-away lunch each week for every five employees in the building who book through them by telephone. This approach will be complimented through an drop at selected times of year (via receptionists and or regular customers) at the offices to inspire lunchers to try something unique and creative. Creating press releases and targeting relevant publications Jane does not intend to advertise in the local paper but hopes to design a few press releases herself which she ll send to publications read by the target group like the BLAH free newspaper or BLAH free evening paper. Hopefully the unique nature of the business will inspire journalists to publicise the business.

5 Jane has done some market research which she believes has been critical to her identifying aa niche in her market. She spent 3 days interviewing people outside offices and in the market to ask them if they would be interested in this type of lunch experience and if a high priced lunch would scare people away. Insights from market research The highest indicator on the results of the surveys suggested that 1 in 10 people would order a takeaway unique lunch once a month and that 1 in 5 would try the lunch experience at least once. Another important piece of feedback was that if it was value for money and truly unique, customers could come along once every 2 or 3 months. Almost everyone said they would come with at least one friend rather than on their own. She did not survey the take-away service as this would be a side-line and the real business is selling her capabilities as a chef. Online promotion Jane will also be setting up a web site and her father has offered to do this for free as he is an IT manager with BLAH firm. Although this will only have basic details of her unique stall and contact details, she will also use this to display photographs of the meals served with an archive showing what was cooked each day. This will allow potential customers to view the kind of experience they can expect as well as provide an archive for reference as to what has been popular as sales will be closely reviewed with respect to meals delivered as well as other factors, such as weather and any other significant events of the day. Retaining customers Jane will be asking existing customers for feedback on a regular basis by way of a customer satisfaction survey which will entitle customers to a free taster. These tasters will be mini versions of the cold snacks derived from the cold food items on sale. The surveys will take less than a minute to complete and will measure the overall satisfaction and each dish served on the day as well as being an opportunity to market the take-away option and cold luxury food items sold on site. Operations Jane will be making National Insurance Class 2 contributions and has organised this with HMRC following registration as being self-employed. She will consider VAT registration at a later date when sales exceed the relevant limits set at that time by HMRC. She has arranged suitable insurance for the equipment as well as personal, professional and public liability. She has also spoken with her parents about storage of her equipment at home and they have informed their insurer and come to an arrangement that is suitable to all parties.

6 Facilitating transactions This will probably be a cash-based business although Jane anticipates that with use of smart payment technology will make it possible that up to half of sales will be made in card payments. Jane has found a clever company which uses a special card slot that can be attached to her smartphone. This provides an easy and convenient way for customers to pay and reduce their environmental impact as their receipt is texted or ed to them. Customers can check their receipt on their own smartphone there and then. Pre-booked customers will pay full price on booking with no refunds allowed and can only pay by card. Booking will be possible up to one day before, subject to availability of seats. Costs & Pricing The break-even of this business for the first year was mentioned already in the executive summary as per week. This was calculated as Total Fixed Costs / (Average Sale Price Average Variable Costs) = 27,000 / ( 25-10) = 1,800 average units needed to be sold for break-even to be reached. Average Sales Price x Average Units Sold per annum = 25 x 1,800 = 45,000, which is also Jane s first year forecast turnover excluding loans and capital introduced. Average Variable Costs (weighted) per average product were estimated at 10. The variable costs consist mainly of the ingredients to be used in the various products. It is worth noting that the cold food is mainly to draw people to the stand and will be practically at cost as this is where most discounts or promotions will take place. The greatest profitability will come from the main menu, whilst there is some profitability for the take-away menu, it is not expected that much trade will occur here. The below table illustrates how these figures were arrived at: Product Sales Price Variable Cost Sales Weighting Weighted Sales Price Weighted Variable Cost Main Menu % 20 6 Take-Away % 3 2 Cold Food % 2 2

7 Weighted Average The pricing was arrived at from the 3-day survey mentioned above as well as an estimate of the value one would put on this kind of experience compared with a cost-plus methodology. The above forms the back-bone of the main assumptions of sales in the cash flow forecast. At the break-even level of units sold in the first year, the number sold per average week in the proportions of the three products groups are: Main Menu = ( 18,000 / 48) / 50 = 7.5, Take-Away = ( 9,000 / 48) / 15 = 12.5 and Cold Food = ( 18,000 / 48) / 5 = 75. Jane feels she can adapt her business model if this plan does not work and her plan B is to change her pricing by changing her intended menu to one which is more attractive to the less discerning customer looking for a more conventional food service throughout the day. Other alternatives are to more heavily promote the Take-Away product line. If Suavi Restaurant secures a number of regular clients for its exclusive 7 course lunch menu experience, this will generate sufficient profits for the business to be viable in the long term once loan repayments rise. Since the lunch menu will be offered daily during the working week from a market stall sized area with seating for between 6-8 customers at a rate of 50 each, the business has the capacity to be able to generate an average income of around per lunch per day just from this product. Cash Flow Forecasts and Personal Survival Budget A cash flow forecast has been prepared for the first 12 months of the business and is attached. This shows total trading income in the first year of trading of 45,000 and she has based the monthly income on her break-even calculations. Jane expects winter months to be quieter on the primary lunch meal and take-away and cold food sales to become more popular. Drawings start at 800 per month rising to 1,400 per month by the end of the year and averaging 1,800 per month in years 2 and 3, subject to performance. A Personal Survival Budget has also been attached which shows Jane s household income and expenditure, which is minimal as she is supported by her parents letting her initially live with them rent-free until the business picks up. Jane is living with her parents and has some student loans to repay but will not be committed to do so until the business is relatively successful and proven.